Best of the Week: Diavolo dance, Dead Boys, Andras Schiff, 'Music Man,' more

Diavolo dance troupe carries the subtitle "Architecture in Motion." That's because Jacques Heim's 25-year-old Los Angeles company uses architectural structures as the inspiration for each work. Commissioned by the Ordway, the two-part "L.O.S.T. (Losing One's Self Temporarily)" features a huge train that transforms itself — with the second part employing giant cubicles for a rumination on the corporate work environment.

SHEILA REGAN

7:30 p.m. Wed., Ordway, St. Paul, $18-$50, ordway.org

Now that he's booking concerts at the Guthrie, Dakota Jazz Club proprietor Lowell Pickett is assembling some special shows. First there was the Peggy Lee musical biography and now comes a tribute to New Orleans with 1960s Crescent City soul queen Irma Thomas ("It's Raining," "Ruler of My Heart") and the Preservation Hall Legacy Quintet. Throw in the mighty Blind Boys of Alabama as special guests, and you've got a remarkable evening of old-school soul, jazz and gospel.

JON BREAM

7:30 p.m. Mon. Guthrie, Mpls., $35-$65, guthrietheater.org

Forty years since they came out of the gate storming with "Sonic Reducer" — now a live staple for Pearl Jam and about a thousand other good bands — Cleveland's pioneering punk-rockers the Dead Boys are on a reunion tour to mark the anniversary of their debut album. Singer Stiv Bators died in 1990, leaving guitarist Cheetah Chrome and drummer Johnny Blitz to carry on with a new crew. This is also a good chance to enjoy Minneapolis' great punk hangout before it closes.

9 p.m. Sun., Triple Rock, Mpls. $13-$15, Ticketfly.com.

In an age when promising young pianists are regularly overhyped, András Schiff has built a successful career based on his utter lack of showiness and pretension. He earned his reputation as one of the great Bach interpreters with his recordings in the 1980s. Schiff's performance of Bach's English Suite No. 6 is sure to be a highlight of this must-see recital. The program also includes Brahms, Mendelssohn and Beethoven — all composers Schiff has played with distinction.

TERRY BLAIN

3 p.m. Sun. Ordway, St. Paul, $32-$71, schubert.org

The world of "The Music Man" may be more wish than reality but Artistry's effervescent production revels in the sheer power and panache of its salesmanship and demonstrates why Meredith Willson's musical has such enduring appeal. One of the highlights of this bold and brassy staging is "Rock Island," a speak-song that uses rhythmically staccato exchanges of a group of salesmen to conjure the movement of the train on which they're traveling.

Ends Nov. 5. Bloomington Center for the Arts, $41, artistrymn.org

In an exhibit titled "Iyapo Repository," New York artists Salome Asega and Ayodamola Tanimowo Okunseinde imagine the future for people of African descent. They present video, notes from a future-visualizing activity, a high-tech bright blue suit for navigation and even a conch shell with purple hair sticking out of it that also plays music.

ALICIA ELER

Law Warschaw Gallery, Macalester College, St. Paul, macalester.edu/gallery

Two cult-loved pioneers in the Americana music world, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Dave Alvin have been friends for 30 years but never played together. The former is a mystical singer, the latter a mighty guitarist, and both are stellar songwriters. Now the Texas country-folk hero of Flatlanders fame and the California roots-rocker of Blasters notoriety are swapping stories and songs. Should be a hoot.

8 p.m. Wed., Cedar Cultural Center, Mpls. $30-$37, TheCedar.org.

At the Trail of Terror, dodge everything from murderous clowns to creepy crawling insects. The Wicked Woods Walk, one of the many attractions, features Mother Nature at her worst. If you're feeling extra brave, the Maze of Mayhem offers 25 spine-tingling rooms to enter where the "citizens" of Harmony are ready to spook … ahem, greet you. Beer and pizza available.

MELISSA WALKER

7-11 p.m. Sun. & next Sun.; 7 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Fri. & Sat. Minnesota Renaissance Festival Grounds, Shakopee, trailofterrormn.com.

"Life's Parade," a new play created by Red Eye Theater, takes place at a party to celebrate a woman's divorce. The guests tell disparate anecdotes from their lives, stories about themselves, fantastical yarns, plots from movies and fairy tales. Sometimes they lie, or embellish or get the story wrong. With dizzying playfulness, this new work reflects on how we share truth and fiction in our storytelling.

Ends Oct. 29. Red Eye Theater, Mpls., $8-$20, redeyetheater.org